Free NHL Betting Picks October 21st

The Oilers earned their first win of the season last night, which ended up with me losing a unit for my puckline bet on the Lightning. For some reason you feel a bit better when the team you bet the puckline on loses the game because then you’re not kicking yourself for taking the 2 goal win. It’s also nice to see the Oilers finally get in the win column, but it’s another unit gone for me, which means I need a big night tonight.

NHL Season Record: 16-14 for +3.55 units.

I couldn’t find a ton of great lines tonight, so I’m sticking with just a couple plays even though it’s a busy night in the NHL.

Vancouver Canucks @ Dallas Stars

Sure, the Canucks are 3-1 to start the season, but this includes two wins over the lowly Oilers and a W over the Flames. The only time the Canucks strayed from these two Western Conference bottom feeders they lost to the Lightning 4-2. For this reason I’m not sold on the Canucks this season and still think they are an outside of the playoffs looking in kind of team.

The Stars aren’t off to the greatest of starts, but their offense is on fire having scored 12 goals in their last 3 games. They’ve also been playing mostly strong teams and I think the Canucks will be their weakest opponent yet. I like the Stars at home in this one.

Tampa Bay Lightning @ Calgary Flames

The Lightning lost a tough one in Edmonton last night, but they will have the opportunity to bounce back tonight in Calgary. This will be Tampa Bay’s 3rd game in 4 nights as they continue their swing through Western Canada. The Lightning aren’t huge favourites in this one, but I think they have a better chance at winning than the odds indicate.

Calgary is going to be one of the worst teams in the league this year. Yes, they’re off to a decent 4-3 start, but their two regulation wins came over the Jets and Oilers, while they got somewhat lucky to win in extra time and a shootout against the Preds and Blackhawks. Calgary is back home after a long 6 game road trip and that can sometimes lead to a let down in intensity as you get things at home in order. Add in the fact that the Flames have the second lowest corsi in the league through this point in the season and you see that they’re still bottom feeders.

I’m going right back to a puck line bet on the Lightning tonight. They shouldn’t let me down twice in a row.